


Pumpkin Date

by TheseusInTheMaze



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Awkward, M/M, New Relationship, Podfic Welcome, Pumpkin carving, hand holding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-29
Updated: 2018-09-29
Packaged: 2019-07-20 10:46:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16135643
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheseusInTheMaze/pseuds/TheseusInTheMaze
Summary: Ryan and Shane go to a pumpkin patch, and discuss... well, a few different things.





	Pumpkin Date

**Author's Note:**

  * For [fringewrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/fringewrites/gifts).



> Love you, Fashnik. <3

“You do realize that these pumpkins are gonna be rotted by the time Halloween rolls along, right?”

Shane’s voice was casual, but he was squinting in the sun.

Ryan had remembered to wear sunglasses - all that Southern California experience seemed to be doing him some good, at least. 

Shane’s hands were stuffed into his pockets, and he was walking along besides Ryan, as the two of them made their way from their car, towards the big barn.

It was painted a bright red, like something out of a kid’s book - it needed a few white chickens in front, maybe a black and white cow to complete the look. 

“It’ll make them look spookier,” Ryan said, his tone assured. 

“I dunno,” said Shane. “I don’t think that squishy pumpkins look that intimidating. More gross than anything else Not, like, cool Halloween gross, either. Just gross.” 

“You’d know about gross, wouldn’t you?”

Shane raised an eyebrow. 

"What's that supposed to mean?"

The two of them walked under a tree, and the shadows danced across Shane's face like they were standing under a neon sign, and Ryan's heart jumped up into his throat.

He was... he was full of feelings for Shane.

He'd talked with Shane about those feelings, Shane had talked about those feelings, and they'd agreed that they had similar feelings, and to maybe go someplace with it.

Except... well, it was scary to make first steps, and Ryan was well aware of his weenie-hood.

But the shadows were dancing across Shane's face, and Ryan's heart was in his throat.

"Ryan?"

"Sorry," Ryan said, and he cleared his throat, shoving his hands in his pockets. "Lost my train of thought."

"Fair enough," Shane said, his tone cheerful. "So what are you gonna carve on your pumpkin?"

"Your face," Ryan said, before his brain had a chance to catch up with his mouth.

Shane snorted.

"You think you could capture my mug on a gourd?"

"I mean, your head is about as big as a pumpkin," Ryan said. "I might have to use one of the really big ones...." 

Shane snickered, and Ryan gave him a Look.

"What? That sentence just has... implications," said Shane, holding two hands up in what was clearly meant to be self defense.

Shane had the most ridiculous hands - they were fucking huge, with long, narrow fingers and wide palms.

Ryan wanted to hold Shane's hand, and god, that was just the gooiest thing ever, wasn't it?

Ryan shoved his own hands into his pockets.

"Get your mind out of the gutter," he scolded Shane. "Aren't I supposed to be the immature frat bro?"

"I never said that," said Shane. "Although if you're gonna put it that way... it's one of the things I like about ya."

Ryan blushed, trying not to grin.

Goddamn it.

He wasn't going to fall into the pit of being nothing but a big ball of goo around the guy.

They had to keep up their banter, didn't they?

"You like that I'm an immature frat bro?"

"I don't think you're an immature frat bro," said Shane. "I just... it's nice, being around someone who's not up their own butt about how smart they are."

Ryan shot a sidelong look at Shane, not sure if he was insulted or not.

It didn't seem like Shane was trying to be insulting, at least?

"I try not to be too far up my own butt," Ryan allowed.

"That's a good way to go through life," said Shane. 

"I don't think you'd be able to go up your own butt," Ryan added, "as big as your head is."

"At least having a big head is good for something," Shane said cheerfully. "Apart from keeping all of my big brains in place."

Ryan snorted, and he prodded Shane in the side, gently.

Shane prodded him back, and then his hand was wrapped around Ryan's wrist. 

He gave it a little squeeze, and then he let go.

Ryan blushed, and he licked his lips. 

"This doesn't feel like a proper autumn," said Shane, "and I still feel weird about getting pumpkins _now_ , when we've got three weeks 'til Halloween."

"You've been living in LA for a while now. Is it that odd?"

"I miss leaves turning colors," said Shane, and he looked faintly wistful. 

"Do you regret moving to LA?"

... wow, this was turning into a fraught conversation over pumpkins.

He'd been careful not to think of it as a "pumpkin date," because that sounded weird and also did it even count as a date if only one person was calling it a date, or was that making it creepy?

_Shit_. 

Maybe Ryan needed to think this through a little more.

It had been an impulse, to suggest going pumpkin picking, and now they were just... here, and... fuck.

And then Shane's hand was sliding into his, squeezing his fingers.

"You okay?"

Shane shot him a sidelong look.

"What? Um. Yeah."

Ryan squeezed Shane's fingers back, and okay, so maybe he was blushing... a lot. 

A lot a lot.

"That's good," said Shane.

He didn't let go of Ryan's hand, as the two of them made their way towards the big barn. 

* * *

"You know," Shane said, as the two of them made their way along the pumpkin patch, "I'm surprised you haven't talked about being worried I'd eat the pumpkin." 

"Oh god, I hadn't even thought of that," said Ryan. "How good are you at pumpkin carving, anyway?"

They were still holding hands.

They were holding hands, close enough together that their wrists were pressed together, and Shane's pulse was beating against Ryan's. 

It was almost overwhelming. 

Almost. 

“I’m pretty good,” said Shane. “I haven’t done it in a while. How did you even _find_ a pumpkin patch?”

“Looked it up,” Ryan said.

He wasn’t really paying attention to any pumpkins - Shane’s pulse was throbbing through Shane’s finger, pressed against Ryan’s own pulse.

“That was nice of you,” said Shane. 

There was a moment of quiet. 

They walked down the rows of pumpkins, which had all been set up on straw bales.

“Do you see any you like?”

Shane’s voice sounded nervous.

“I mean,” said Ryan, “it’s a pumpkin. It’s not like we have to worry about it having bad milage or anything like that.”

Shane made an amused noise.

“Yeah, but if you want to carve my head, you have to make sure it’s the right size, right?”

“I dunno,” said Ryan, and he pointed to the pumpkin by the barn. “That one seems to be big enough for your head, just about.”

It was made of fiberglass, and looked like it could have been a good stand in for Cinderella’s carriage. 

Shane snorted, and then he pointed with his free hand, his fingers still tangled in Ryan’s. 

“That one looks like you,” he said. 

The pumpkin was small enough that Ryan could have held it in one hand.

“Real funny,” Ryan said, his voice flat. 

Shane grinned at him, and his thumb was tracing across Ryan’s knuckles.

Shane had the longest goddamn fingers, holy crap.

It was ridiculous.

Ryan sighed, and he let go of Shane’s hand, to hold his out in defense.

“You win,” he told Shane. “I’ve got a tiny, tiny head. If you combined us like something out of some weird anime, you’d get one really tall, built person with a normal sized head.”

Shane grinned - it was a whole face sort of smile, the kind that made Ryan want to kiss him, only they were in public and the sun was beating down on them and also Ryan wasn’t sure how you were supposed to kiss a dude, let alone a dude who was your best friend, because that kinda shit seemed like it’d be complicated.

“Where would the excess head mass go?”

Shane was rubbing his hands together, long fingers entwining.

“I didn’t think of that,” Ryan admitted, letting his hands drop down to his sides.

There was a pinky against his, and he looked down at his own hand, then up at Shane’s face.

Shane was blushing - Ryan could tell, even through the sunglasses - but he kept eye contact, as he took Ryan’s hand.

“I guess I’ll have to figure that out,” said Shane, as he began to walk along the rows again.

Ryan walked beside him, palm to palm, as the sun beat down on their heads, to match the spot where their pulses beat against each other.

**Author's Note:**

> Like this fic?
> 
> Want me to write you something like this, or something completely different?
> 
> Come talk to me on my tumblr, theseusinthemaze.tumblr.com!

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [Pumpkin Date [Podfic]](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17306168) by [cantarina](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cantarina/pseuds/cantarina)




End file.
